A Creative PEC State of the Nations Report
In this report, we consider the important role that higher education (HE) plays in supplying the talent needs of the arts and culture sectors.
The research examines HE study choices and how they relate to subsequent employment for new graduates. With graduate destinations currently a subject of intense discussion across academia, media and public policy, this report explores the practical realities faced by arts and culture students as they venture into the workplace. This report marks the first time that self-assessed job quality has been gathered from creative graduates.
The research suggests the time is right for fresh thinking on what data is needed to enable a more holistic assessment of HE and its contributions to the creative economy, one which recognises the distinctive features of creative labour markets and a need to move beyond the reductive and defensive debates of recent years.
Key findings
- Arts and culture graduates are more likely than others to say they’ve used what they learned during study, when in work
- 9.5% of all students are registered on arts and culture degrees (during the research period)
- Arts and culture graduates working outside of the arts and culture sectors are less likely to state that their current work is meaningful and important
- Fewer than 50% of graduates working in art, music and drama are in full-time roles which may indicate they are also focussing on developing their creative practice
The report indicates the ways in which the environment remains challenging for arts and culture graduates, but also the importance of considering multiple dimensions of graduate destinations, in contrast to the restricted focus on graduate earnings demonstrated by UK policymakers in recent years.
In the coming weeks Creative PEC will host an expert roundtable based on the report findings bringing together key representatives from government, academia, industry and the higher education sectors to explore a future research agenda to assess the value of creative degrees. Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll keep you updated on upcoming events.
What are State of the Nations reports?
Creative PEC’s ‘State of the Nations’ series analyses the latest data across four thematic areas to inform the development of policies relating to the creative industries. Their scope is the whole of the United Kingdom, and wherever possible data is presented for all the nations and regions. Regular reports on each area will be published biannually over the five yours of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding. The themes and corresponding Research Consortium Partners are:
- R&D, Innovation and Clusters (University of Sussex)
- Internationalisation (Newcastle University)
- Arts, Culture and Heritage (University of Sheffield)
- Education, Skills and Talents (Work Advance)
The report is written by our consortium partner the University of Sheffield with additional support from the University of Manchester:
- Dr Siobhan McAndrew, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, University of Sheffield
- Dr Mark Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Methods, University of Sheffield
- Dr Ruoxi Wang, Research Associate, University of Sheffield
- Professor Dave O’Brien, Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, University of Manchester
Citation: If the information in this report is used in any subsequent research and/or publications, please cite as follows: McAndrew, S., O’Brien, D., Taylor, M. and Wang, R. ‘Higher education and the arts and culture sectors’. Creative PEC State of the Nations Research Series. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.15041124
The report was designed by Mike Green at Green Doe.
